Improvement in uniting edges of hosiery goods



geiten tatrs atrnt @ffice EDWARD ELISHAV 'KILBOURI 0F NEIV BRUNSWICK, NEI'V. JERSEY.

` Lenas Patent N0. 'oaosndaaa August 27, 1567,.

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TO ALL WHOM IT- MAY CONGERN:

Be it knownl that I, EDWARD ELISHA KILBOURN, of New Brunswick, in the Stutecf New Jersey, have invented ra new and useful Improvement in Looped Fabrics, or Hosiery Goods, as "they are` technically called in the trade, and that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description and specification of my said invention,

, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon.

Hosiery goods, such as knit shirts, drawers, and' stockings, are frequently made ofparts which are formed in whole or in part with selvcdge edges` of loop,'s,l,and these edges are subsequently connected together by sewing thread through the loops of the selvcdge edges to be lconnocted, and thereby fastening them together so that they abut without any overlapping imurginsz, This work was done prior"`to m`y present inventiori principally by hand, and was quite imperfect, so tha-tthevseam produced wasunevcn in appearance and not uniformly elastic. My improvemcnt'consists in' uniting the selvedge edges of hosiery lgoodsby a chain-stitch formed by inserting loops of the connecting thread alternately through the loops of the fabric and outside of them, and by securing the said thread-loops by inlacing each loop with its successor. By this mode of sewing a'highly elastic and handsome seam is produced, which is not only superior in quality to the old seam, but is so much better in appearance that the mercantile value of the goods is materially'enhanced. o

The improvement is applicable to the various cases which may occur inpraetice; suchfor example, as the connection of the two edges of the body of a shirt, or of the two edges of a shirt-sleeve vor of a drawers leg; the connection of the ribbed band of a shirt-slceve or of a drawers leg to the remainder; the connection ofthe selvedge edges of the legs or feet of stockings, and the connection of the separate members of hosiery goods with each other. .As the stitch, when drawn tight and made with yarns of the sizes used in practice, is too small to be distinctly seen with the naked eye, I have represented it in the accompanying drawing as larger and looser than it really is, so that the intcrlooping of the thread may be more readily perceived. In,` the said drawin'g- Figure 1 represents the appearance of the connection at the face of the fabric.,

Figure 2 represents the appearance at the back of the fabric, andl Figui-e3 represents-the intel-looping of the thread, greatly enlarged and left loose.

The two selvedge edges to be connected may be represented by thc lines ofloopsA Al B 131 in fig. 3, and, supposing the sewing to commence 4at the right handof thegure, and to proceed towards the left-hand end, the mode of proceeding will be as follows: The loop of thread Cl is inserted through the two adjacent loops a1 b of the edges to be united, and beyond the second one, where it is left until a second loop, C2, is inserted through it without beingpreviously inserted through the fabric. The thread is then inserted in the form of a loop, C3, through the next two loops, a2 62, of the fabric, and through the intermediate loop C2 of thread last formed, after which a second intermediate loop, G, is inserted through the last loop C3 of thread, as before; and so on until the two edges are united from end to end,whereupon the thread is 'severed and the end pulled 4through the last loop to s ec ure it. In this manner each second loop Cl G3 of thread is passed through theloops of the edges of the fabric, and through its predecessor, while the alternating loops of thread C2 C` are inserted through the preceding loops of thread outside of the loops ofthe fabric, and each loop of the connecting-thread is secured by-the interlacing of'its successor with-it. i

The interlooping of the thread may be effected by hand, by means of an eye-pointed needle', or by means ot' 'a crochethook, ,and is most readily effected when the loops of the edges to be united are set 'up upon a series of points. Y I prefer to effect it by means'of a machine which I have specially devised for the purpose, and which is fully described in the Letters Patent of the United States, No. 59,746, granted to my assignee, the` Norfolk and New Brunswick HosierylCrompany, the twentieth day of November, AD. 1866. As that machine is fully described in the said patent, and as Athe subjectmatter of this patent is not a machine, but un improvement in the article of manufacture, I-do not deem it necessary to describe the machine in this scheduled What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- The improved connection of hosiery goods, consisting ofthe combination of the loops of the adjacent abutting edges of the article by means of the chain-stitch hereinbeforc described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my handV this thirteenth day of May, A. D. 1867.V

EDWARD ELtsHA KILBOURN.

Witnessesi Gnu. W. Davia LUcIUs'P. Ponrnm 

